A Sense of Honour and Duty
by Anyuna
Summary: An alien has come to Earth to study Humans - an alien not even Ax recognises. But is is a peacefull study? And what kind of impact will she have on the war and for what side? -Finished!
1. Default Chapter

In the darkness, Marco awoke slowly. He knew somehow, that there was somebody else in the room. That was when he saw her coming towards her from across the room.  
  
As she walked through a beam of moonlight, he saw clearly that she wasn't human. Not any species he recognized, she was slightly taller that a human, her heels raised off the ground, six fingers on each of her two hands, orange fur that blended to white at the ends of her arms. Lastly, he noticed the tail. Thick and sturdy, it split a third from the end, and the two tips were exactly the shape of the spades on packs of cards.  
  
A part of him wanted to cry out; there was a strange alien in his room! But somehow, he knew she meant him no harm. He came to the conclusion that he must be dreaming. Therefore, when she came right up to him and sat on the edge of his bed, looking at him intently, it didn't worry him. Somehow, it seemed almost as if she was asking for his permission for something. He agreed immediately. "Yes." he said quietly, again not knowing why.  
  
Smiling, as if she had understood, she gently rested her hands on his temples and closed her diamond-shaped eyes. As an expression of great concentration crossed her face, Marco felt her presence in his mind. It was searching for something, gently probing through the contents of his head. When she found what she had been looking for, somehow he knew what it was. The language section of his brain jumped into life at the touch of her mind.  
  
Then she opened her eyes and smiled again. Still smiling she said – although rather haltingly – "Thank you, little one. You sleep now." As he drifted back off to sleep, she gently touched her forehead with his. In the act of climbing back out the window, she turned back to look at Marco as he drifted back off to sleep. With one final smile, she was gone.  
  
On the way back to her nest, Astrana thought about the little human that she had just encountered. The memories she had seen before she had time to pull away from that part of his mind disturbed her greatly. She knew that he was only young, yet he had already seen so much horror and pain, far beyond what could ever possibly be considered just. "But then," she thought gloomily, "life is seldom fair."  
  
Her thoughts continued along this line until she reached her nest. She had found such a beautiful place for it. Ever though the strange plants of Earth still unnerved her slightly, the sight of a forest stretching out above her and a lovely clearing below cheered her no end. Why just yesterday she had watched a fellow hunter swoop down from a tree and catch a small mammal. A... mouse was what the humans called it if she was correct. The knowledge was usually immediate, but sometimes across species there was more of a delay. Oh, but the hunter! A truly amazing creature indeed.  
  
The inhabitants of this planet astounded her. There was so much more variation of life. Certainly more than any other planet she had ever heard about. Yet they seemed to be completely oblivious to the beauty that surrounded them, destroying it purely for the sake of material gain, from what she had seen of the broadcasts on this planet. "If they aren't careful, they'll end up in the same situation as the B'stcreens." she thought gloomily. "That species has no respect for anyone or anything. It's actually a pity that they developed terraforming technology, already three planets are dead dust balls now." She shook her head. "Some species just won't learn."  
  
Astrana filed her report on the language quickly as she was quite tired after her first day on this new planet. She shut her console down and snacking on a pakaran fruit, made a mental note to find out what types of native plant were edible before her supplies from home ran out. She stretched and let out a massive yawn, then curled up with her tail wrapped around her – more for comfort than warmth – and went to sleep.

A/N: So what do we think hmmmmm? Please do tell.


	2. Undue Suspicions

A/N: Sorry this took so long, but I have no internet at the moment and when I tried to put this chapter up, my friend's computer threw a paddy. But it's finally here and the next one's well on the way too.

I'm going to use () for thought-speak cause it won't let me use the greater/less than signs

P.S. Thanks sooooooo much for all the reviews I got for the first chapter. I would name you all, but there were so many of you, it would take up too much space. Thanks again.

* * *

Astrana groaned, as she tried to find the source of that obnoxious beeping while still half asleep. It was the species database. "Stupid machine." She muttered bitterly. "What is wrong with you?" She looked at the display, and did an abrupt double-take. "An Andalite? What would an Andalite be doing here?" She stretched in an effort to properly wake herself. "I'd better check it out." She made a mental note of where is said the Andalite was, then re-cloaked her nest and set off.

* * *

At the meeting that morning, Marco was paying little attention. It was the same old argument anyway. Whether to have a break or hit them while they're down because they're lying low. Besides that, the crazy dream he'd had last night wouldn't get out of his head. It had been so real. He was roused from his thoughts by a rustling in the tree above his head. But he had no preparation for what happened next.

The very alien from his dream swung down by her tail and smiled at him. "Hello little one." She released her hold on the branch and dropped down to the ground. "It is good to see you again." She turned to face Ax. "Tell me, what is an Andalite doing here with humans?"

The reactions of the group were all immediate, but there were differing types. Cassie went to examine this new fascinating new creature, and Jake put out an arm to stop her. Tobias screeched in alarm, nearly falling off his perch while Marco stood dumbfounded, trying to make sense of what was happening. Rachel started going into grizzly morph and Ax raised his tail, spitting out a single word. (Yeerk.)

This merely confused her. "Yeerk? What is a yeerk?" The sight of Rachel halfway through her morph didn't help. "And a human with Andalite morphing technology?"

(Do not try and feign innocence, Yeerk. You are fooling no one.)

Jake, a man of few words, gave a short order. "Rachel, hold it still."

Astrana's immediate reaction was indignance. "It?" she exclaimed, her tail thrashing irately. "I am not an it, I am a her!" Because there was no warning, she was caught completely off guard when Rachel, now fully a Grizzly wrapped two mammoth limbs around her. "What are you doing? I mean you no harm, I assure you." She only struggled for a moment, then said approvingly, "This animal is very strong."

Rachel ignored this. (What'd you say Jake? Do we believe her or not?)

Jake began to pace. "Well, she doesn't seem dangerous, but we can't afford to be wrong. We're going to have to keep her where we can see her for three days just to make sure."

Cassie spoke up. "I could go and get one of the bigger cages in the barn. That would work. But someone would have to be watching her at all times in case the yeerk decides to make a run for it. I'll need two people to help carry it as well."

(I would be willing to watch her Prince Jake. We could put the cage near my scoop.) Some of the venom had faded from his voice, but it was still obvious what he thought.

Jake nodded. "Cassie, Marco and I will go get the cage. The rest of you take her to Ax's scoop. We'll meet up there. Make sure you keep a close eye on her."

They all moved off with purpose – all except Marco who had the look of someone who believes they are dreaming and is just going to go with the flow and see what happens.


	3. Confinement

A/N: I'm going to use () to show thought-speak because it won't let me put in what it is in the books. 

I'd like to say thanks to Little Midgett, East Coast Ryder for their reviews and especially Chinese is Greek to me! for the most indepth review I have ever got. (And yes I do know exactly what is going to happen) From now on I'll try to name everyone who sends me a review, even flamers. R & R!

* * *

"I honestly can't understand why you're being so hostile." Astrana was complaining. She had started as soon as they left, and was still doing it. 

(I swear; one more word out of you and I'll crush your spine, yeerk or not.) It was driving Rachel crazy.

"That's not a very nice thing to say." She mumbled. Rachel growled, but didn't perform the promised spinal crushage. "Where are you taking me again anyway?"

Ax's voice was terse. (For the fourth time, to a place near my scoop. I will not tell you again.)

Tobias laughed to himself. (At least she's not endlessly repeating 'are we there yet? Are we there yet?')

After many more excruciating minutes, they finally arrived at a clearing only a small distance from the one that housed Ax's scoop. Jake, Cassie and Marco were already there. With the cage.

Astrana looked around the clearing, obviously overjoyed. "This truly is a beautiful place. Even better than the location I chose. I complem..." she stopped suddenly in the midst of her appraisal, her eyes locked on the cage. A sturdy metal box that was big enough to hold her, but only just. "That is the cage? This is surely some kind of joke." There was no way for he to keep the fear out of her voice. Her species, being creatures of the open have always been notoriously claustrophobic.

Ax sounded positively gleeful. (Not so calm now, are you yeerk? How long has it been since you last visited the yeerk pool?)

Jake sighed. "Well, let's do this." He said resignedly.

"No!" Astrana started struggling out of fear. "I won't go in there!" But there was no use. As a grizzly, Rachel was far too strong for her. Gradually, they managed to stuff her into the cage and get it shut. It wasn't easy. She had very sharp claws, and all of the Animorphs had at least one scratch on them.

Shaking, Astrana looked around her prison. It was too small. There was no room to move, no room to fight. She tried to fight the hereditary fear, but it was too powerful. So she curled up in a corner, still shaking. Closing her eyes, she tried to pretend that she was home. The wide expanse of forest in front of her, all familiar trees surrounding her. It was no good. She could feel the hard metal of the cage floor under her and hear her quaking breath on the walls that were far too close to her.

None of the Animorphs seemed to notice this. Either that or they all thought it was the yeerk finally realizing that it was doomed. Then Jake realized something. "Tomorrow's a school day, so how are we gonna watch her the whole time?"

Tobias volunteered. (Ax and I can watch her during the day.)

Jake didn't seem satisfied. "But there's still nighttime. I say two shifts a night. Ten till two, then two till six. Two people at all times. Any disagreements?"

"Well it's not as if we have much of a choice, fearless leader." Jake looked accusingly at Marco for that comment. He put up his hands. "Hey, not like that. I mean we have to watch her one way or another, and we all know this is our only option."

Jake sighed. "I know. Any volunteers for the first night shift? It's nine now. So who wants to go from now till two?"

Cassie sighed. "I'll do it." She'd already seen the final hours of a Yeerk's life before and had no desire to see it again. Taking this first shift made it less likely.

"Well, I've got nothing important to do tonight..." Marco said, he paused, then added, "...or tomorrow." He sighed melodramatically and placed one hand on his brow. Everyone shook their heads at this display. But as soon as the eyes were off him, Marco's expression became extremely worried. He had no idea what was going on here, but he was going to find out.

"Okay." Jake said. "Marco and Cassie will do the night first watch. Rachel and I will arrive at two to relieve them. Everyone else should try to get as much sleep as they can."

* * *

It didn't take long for ten o'clock to roll around. Cassie arrived first, in owl morph. Marco got there only a couple of minutes later. He had walked, needing the time to think. He certainly hadn't managed to catch any sleep to make up for what he would miss out on tonight. 

After some brief hellos and goodbyes, Ax turned and ran off into the woods towards his scoop. Tobias flew away in the same general direction. When they were gone, Marco sat down on a log, resting his head in his hands.

Cassie looked over. "Are you alright?" she asked.

But he didn't answer. Instead he moved over to the cage and spoke to their alien prisoner. "Something doesn't add up. If you are a controller, then why didn't you kill or infest me when I was sleeping?"

She didn't speak. Not trusting herself to restrain from screaming, she stayed silent.

Cassie, however, did not stay quiet. "What are you talking about Marco?"

Marco distractedly ran one hand through his hair. "She was in my room last night. I thought it was just a crazy dream, but then she turned up today. I would've said something earlier, but I... I don't know. I think my brain overloaded for a while there."

Before Cassie could say anything to that there was a blur of movement and Astrana was suddenly grasping Marco's ankle. She looked pleadingly at him and began begging for her freedom. "Please, little one. Please let me out. I have no desire to harm any of you; you cannot deny that you know that."

Cassie was curious. She crouched down be the cage. "Alright then, if you're not a yeerk, then why are you so desperate to get out of there?"

Astrana took a deep calming breath and answered shakily. "I come from a world of wide open spaces. My entire race find small spaces terrifying. Please let me out. You have no idea how torturous this is."

Marco wrenched his leg out of her grip and went to sit back down on the log, facing away from her. "I can't. It's not my place to take that risk."

At that, Astrana could contain herself no longer. Letting out a wail of despair she curled back into a ball and wept.


	4. Apologies

Even though it had been four hours, the whimpering hadn't stopped. Every time Astrana would manage to get herself under control, she would open her eyes, or something would trigger a memory which would in turn cause her terror to take hold of her once more.

It was killing Marco. Having to listen to her in pain like this cut him deep. And the fact that she kept begging him to let her out didn't help either.

"Please." She sobbed desperately. "Please little one, please!"

Jake and Rachel arrived and de-morphed. Jake walked over to Marco, putting one hand on his shoulder. Marco hadn't moved from that log in a long time. "Hey, Marco. Your time's up."

Marco stood up abruptly, shrugging off Jake's hand. "You're damn right it is!" He snapped. "I'm not doing this again." He turned and ran off before anyone could say anything.

Jake went to go after him, but Cassie stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Let him go Jake. This has been really rough on him."

This puzzled Jake. "How has this been hard on him?"

Cassie sighed and started to explain. When she was finished, Jake was much less puzzled, but a whole lot more worried. He rubbed the back of his head distractively, not knowing what to do. It was still to risky to let her out.

* * *

So Astrana had to stay imprisoned. The two days that followed very nearly destroyed her. When they came to let her out, she didn't even hear Jake say, "Okay, it's been three days; I guess you're not a Yeerk after all." All she knew was that suddenly she was free.

Instinct took over and she bolted to the safety of the nearby trees. She rested her forehead on the bark and breathed deeply. Then she noticed the one she had guessed was the leader approaching. "Go away!" she hollered.

Jake put up his hands as a gesture of peace. "It's okay. No one here's gonna hurt you."

"No, but you might lock me up again! I won't let you!" She took off; racing through the treetops with all the speed she could muster.

Jake reacted instantly. "Tobias. Go after her. There's too much we don't know about her."

(You got it. One chase coming right up.) He launched himself into the air after her.

(Prince Jake, I would like to go as well. I treated her very badly and wish to make up for it.) Jake nodded, and Ax ran off in the same direction the other two had gone.

But it wasn't that easy to follow her, she was exceptionally fast and she kept also kept veering off in different directions, sometimes even dropping out of the trees to try and hide her trail.

(Hey, she's changed direction again.) Tobias flared his wings, turning ninety degrees.

(Which way now?) Ax was determined to catch her.

(Heading west. She's slowed down a bit though, but she's still going pretty quick. I reckon she might even be able to beat a Hork-bajir! Wait a minute; she's stopped in a clearing about a hundred yards west from you.)

Tobias settled in a nearby tree so that he could see her and waited for Ax to arrive. Of course, with his vision, it didn't matter how far away he was but he wanted to be able to hear her clearly. She was muttering half under her breath. Even though he could clearly hear every syllable, very few of them were actually intelligible. Occasionally she would say several words in English and Tobias would later swear that he heard some things that sounded almost like Hork-Bajir.

* * *

Astrana was furiously banging things around swearing in every language she could think of, from English to Hork-Bajir to the language of her own people, the Kinto'un. She knew she should file a report about what had happened, but was preoccupied with cursing those stupid humans in every way possible.

Her verbal tirade was cut off by Ax appearing at the edge of the clearing. This was the final straw. Pausing only a moment she streaked through the trees towards him, drawing out both her daggers. They may be mostly ceremonial, but they were still deadly.

Before Ax knew what had happened, she had pounced from a tree and slammed him into the ground. She pressed one blade to his neck and used the other to block the swipe of his tail above her head.

Astrana drew back her lips to reveal her long incisors and hissed at Ax. "What do you want?" she said slowly. When Ax only looked at her she began flicking her tail irritably.

"Tseer!" Tobias came suddenly at her, talons outstretched.

She rolled sideways and released Ax, then jumped back up into the safety of the trees. "Don't worry; I wasn't going to kill him," she said, slotting her daggers back into their sheaths on her legs, "I was just making a point."

(Some point.) Ax said dryly, getting to his hooves. (And to think I came to apologize.)

Astrana laughed. "A mighty Andalite? Apologize? But that aside, I want to make clear that I want no further dealings with you or your little band of humans. Now run off and repeat that message."

(But-) Tobias began.

"No, I don't wish to hear any more. Go." She pointed back in the direction they had come.

(What do you think we should do?) Tobias asked Ax in private thought-speak.

(Go back and tell Prince Jake. I doubt that we will get any more information out of her.)

They both turned and left, leaving Astrana alone once more. Back in her nest, she sat staring into space, just thinking. At first she had been curious as to why there was an Andalite here, but now all she wanted to know was they were far away from her. She probably shouldn't have attacked him like that, but for once, her temper had gotten the better of her.

An instrument to her left started to beep. It had found the Chee.

A/N: If anyone wants to know more about her daggers, review me and I'll send you a sketch and a couple of notes.


	5. The Chee

When Eric opened his door, Jake didn't waste any time getting to the point. "Eric, we have to talk. There's a new alien around and we have no idea what her agenda is."

Eric nodded. "Come with me. This needs to be dealt with." He turned and went to the entrance of the dog colony concealed under their house. He and all the Animorphs packed into the lift and began the trip down.

When the doors opened, there was a moment of total shock. There she was. Astrana was playing with the multitude of dogs, running and laughing. When she saw the Animorphs, she came to a sudden halt. "What are they doing here?" she asked Eric suspiciously.

"Look, we're all on the same side here." Eric said. "This is just a matter of crossed communications."

"Crossed communications?!" Astrana exclaimed. "They locked m-"

Eric cut her off with a raised hand. For most, this would not have worked, but the Kinto'un had a great respect for the Pemalites, and this also transferred over to their creations the Chee. "They had to lock you up so they could be sure you were not under Yeerk control."

"Yeerks again! You all keep bringing them up but no one will tell me what they are!" Being kept out of the loop like this was infuriating for Astrana. For the Kinto'un, the whole purpose of life is to acquire knowledge, so not knowing about something made them irritable.

"You don't even know what a Yeerk is?" Jake asked, stunned. This news completely threw him, how could this alien not know about the Yeerk threat? Astrana merely growled softly in response to this.

Eric started to explain. "About three centuries ago, we lost communications with her species. Until now we had no idea what had happened, but Astrana here has filled us in on the details."

Feeling it was her job to tell the story of her race, Astrana took over. "The Kinto'un, my people ran into a serious problem. We had always been very attached to our planet and its ecosystem, so when we put ourselves apart from all other life on the planet, the fertility rate dropped to a mere ten percent in two generations."

"What did you do to fix it?" asked Cassie, always the conservationist.

"We pulled everyone back to the homeworld and returned to the trees. The situation has improved, but some of us are still born unable to breed." Astrana said sadly. "Like me. That is why I'm here. We love knowledge, so some of us are sent off-planet to gather reports on other sentient races."

"And that's why she doesn't know about the Yeerks. Her race has been busy at home long before they got loose." Eric informed them. He turned to Astrana, dropping his hologram as he did so. "This is a yeerk." He said projecting an image of one in front of her.

"'I don't see what's so dangerous about that." she said skeptically. "Why are you all so worried about these little things?"

Eric put his hologram back up and looked at her gravely. "They enter the brain through the ear canal and take complete control of the host. With the ability to access all memories, they can pass as the individual who is no more than a shell."

Astrana's eyes widened in shock. "That- that's horrible." She breathed. Then she straightened and said with determination. "I want to help you fight. No creature deserves that fate."

Eric shook his head. "That's not my decision as I can't fight. Jake's the leader."

She turned to him, dipped her head and lowered her tail to the ground in what seemed to the Animorphs to be some sort of bow. "I am yours to command if you want my help."

Jake hesitated for a second, then nodded. "We need all the help we can get."

"So what now?" she asked.

"Well," said Jake, rubbing his hands together, "we go get the morphing cube."

A/N: So, if you like it, send me a review. But if you don't like it, you too can send me a review. There's just so many choices!


	6. The Arrival of Ferbale

(Touch the cube.) Aximilli told Astrana. Pressing her hand against the blue device, she felt a mild shock spread through her body. (Now you are infused with morphing technology.) he said.

Cassie handed her an owl. "This is a brown owl. She flew into some power lines a while ago. But she's all better now and we're releasing her tomorrow."

(Concentrate on the creature.) Aximilli said. (Focus your mind on it and its DNA should become part of you.)

Astrana closed her eyes, turning her mind to the bird in her arms, feeling it grow complacent. After a few moments, she stopped. "And now?"

(Now it is just a matter of collecting you some more morphs.)

"Where do we do that?" she asked as Cassie returned the owl to her cage.

"For that," Jake said, "we go to the Gardens."

"How will we get there?"

"That's what the owl is for." Jake said. "Think about it, think about becoming it."

Again, she closed her eyes; bring up the image in her mind. Slowly, her fur changed from orange to the owl's colors – gray and brown – twisting up to form feathers. Her tail shrunk back into her body and she began to shrink rapidly, her feet becoming talons as it happened.

When she looked around again, she was astounded to find that everything in the barn was thrown into sharp relief – the owl's night vision far outstripping her own. (Wow! It's like daylight in here!) Something in particular caught her eye. There was a mouse on the floor. She went to fly up and strike, to kill and feed when Cassie's words stopped her.

"Before you do anything, you have to know that the animal's instincts will be strong, and you have to stay in control."

(I hadn't even realized, the strength of the urge to hunt in this creature.) she admitted. (But I have control now.)

The other animorphs all assumed bird morphs, and they all headed out towards the Gardens. Because it was already closed for the night, it was safe to land inside the grounds and walk around without fear of being seen.

(Now, to go back to your own body,) Jake told her, (just do the same thing you did before but making a mental image of yourself instead of the owl.)

(Sounds simple enough.) Astrana said, bringing up a picture of herself inside her mind. The first thing that happened was that she stretched like she was made of putty. Then her legs changed, she scales melting to become fur, but still retaining the same colors. Her body resumed it's natural shape, and then last but not least, it seemed like a wave swept down her, changing her fur and eyes back to their original shades. She checked herself over to make sure the process was complete, then asked, "What now?"

"Well that depends on what kind of morphs you want." Cassie said. "You'll definitely need a battle morph. This is the big cat section, so just look around."

Astrana spotted something. "I recognize that!" It was a sign with lions on it. (A/N: With helpful facts on it and everything. Aren't zoos great?) "It was on one of the transmissions from your planet we intercepted on the way here. Those creatures are magnificent."

She moved over to the enclosure where a lioness was peacefully sleeping. Without waiting to be told what to do, she jumped noiselessly down and walked over to the dozing beast. Laying one hand on its flank, she concentrated.

Once the acquiring was over, she walked calmly away. A small sound made her look around. The male of the pride had woken up and was charging towards her. Before anyone even had time to call out a warning she had leapt straight up the wall – a good ten feet – and grabbed the rail. She pulled herself up casually as if she had been doing nothing more dangerous than going for a quiet walk in the park.

"Can someone tell me again why she needs a battle morph?" Marco said.

This report had a lot to go in it. And Aximilli wasn't helping progress by asking her a constant stream of questions. About to answer what was probably his hundredth query, she paused, feeling a familiar presence, although somehow, something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

"Astrana!" called a voice she knew shouldn't be there.

"Ferbale? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on the other side of this continent."

He emerged from the trees slowly, emanating nonchalance. "I just came to see how you were doing." Then he saw Aximilli and was unable to control his instant reaction – a look of pure hatred. Instantly, they knew what he was.

(Grab him!) Aximilli yelled. Astrana sped towards him, tackling him at shoulder height, pinning him to the ground.

"What are you doing?" he cried in surprise.

"I know what you are." She hissed. "So you might as well get out of my friend. Death is better for him than enslavement."

The Yeerk cursed. It had been stupid to come alone. He had been overconfident in his assumption that he could handle her. He desperately searched Ferbale's memories looking for proof of her statement. Every single memory confirmed what she had said. Freedom in death was better than slavery in life was one of the major tenants in their beliefs.

Deciding to bail, he wormed his way out of Ferbale's ear canal, holding onto control until the last moment. But it did him no good. Astrana spotted him and pinned him down with one foot. But that wasn't enough. Whipping out one of her daggers, she made quick work of the little slug. Only then did she check on her friend. "You okay?"

"Fine." He said hesitantly, trying to get used to controlling his own body again. She helped him up and supported him until he got his balance back. He glanced at Aximilli fearfully.

"It's okay," she reassured him, "he's a friend. Aximilli, I want you to meet Ferbale."

(Hello.) Aximilli said.

"A pleasure I'm sure." Ferbale replied wryly.

"Wow, normal to sarcastic in only ten seconds, that's a new record." She said, chuckling. Then she got serious. "Ferbale, our people need to know about this. You have to go back and warn them."

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'm staying here. They need my help."

Ferbale sighed. "If that's your decision. Be careful." They briefly intertwined their tails, pressing their foreheads together.

"You too. Don't get caught again."

"Believe me, I have no intention of doing that." He shuddered. Turning to Aximilli he said, "Take car of her for me, okay."

Aximilli just nodded, having picked that gesture up from the humans. As Ferbale sped off through the trees towards his ship, Aximilli asked, (Who was he?)

"An old friend. We were both sent here to study humans. I guess that will have to wait. We have to save them first."

A/N: Hope you liked this. Please R & R!


	7. Nightmare

A/N: Hey hey! I know it's been awhile, but I'm back to being internet-capable and putting up more chapters. Let me know if all you out there in reader-land like this one.

* * *

(What are you doing?)

Astrana sighed, her concentration lost. She looked up and saw Tobias perched in a nearby tree. "Either stay there, perfectly still and don't talk to me or go away."

This puzzled him. (Why?)

"I need to concentrate for this. It's a ritual of our people, and I need a small animal to get close to me." She explained.

(Oh, like Ax's morning ritual.) Now he thought he understood. He decided to stay and watch. He was always interested to learn new things about alien culture.

"I very much doubt that." She muttered darkly, settling back into the meditative position and closing her eyes. Focusing all her attention of her senses of smell and sound, she could tell there were rabbits nearby. Sure enough, not too much time passed before one of them came to investigate this strange creature.

It edged closer and closer. When it was right by her knee having a sniff, her hand shot out and grabbed it. She stood up, wrapping her hands around the squealing rabbit in her grasp.

She held it high above her head and said aloud in her own language, "May this life, offered now to my ancestors protect my own in the battles ahead." In one quick move she broke its neck. Bending back down, she pulled out one of her daggers and slit its throat. "As the blood of this creature mixes with the earth," she said, rubbing it into the dirt, "may mine be spared from flowing." In the red dust, she drew a symbol of two intertwined tails. "Ancestors, grant me the courage to aid my comrades in their fight. Strengthen and guide me. To you I commend this life that my cry will be heard. May my time be well spent."

Tobias was shocked. He'd had no idea she would do something like that. (Okay, that was NOTHING like Ax's ritual.)

She shrugged. "It's a traditional thing. Do you want this?" she indicated to the rabbit which was still in her hand.

(Is that allowed?)

"It doesn't matter what happens to it afterwards. Once the life has been offered, the body has no significance. Usually I'd eat it, but I'm not hungry. Do you want it or not?"

Hesitantly he said, (I suppose so.) She tossed it to him and he caught it in his beak. He felt a little strange about it, knowing what it had been used for, but food was food. He flew down and began tearing into the flesh, trying not to think about it.

Astrana felt a little guilty lying to him, but the final part of the ritual dictated that one of the people she would be joining in battle with had to eat it – raw. Somehow she didn't see any of the others jumping at the chance to have raw rabbit.

* * *

Astrana was running. Running on nothing, or so it seemed. And running to nowhere as well, there was nothing on any horizon, not that she could see.

"_Wait,"_ she thought, _"there IS something out there."_

There was a tiny pinprick of light in the distance. Slowly, it was getting closer to her, whether she kept running or not. She decided to stay still since it kept coming no matter what she did, so she might as well just wait and see what was going to happen.

The light got nearer and nearer until it enveloped her completely. She laughed out of sheer wonder, it was so beautiful. She watched as shapes started to form and colors develop around her.

The light cut off and she was standing in front of her birth-tree watching a Caranius making graceful patterns with its wings. It was an insect similar to a butterfly, except it had six wings instead of four and the body was underneath it, not in the middle.

"_Oh no."_ Said a small part of her in the back of her mind. _"Not this memory." _But that part of her was powerless to stop what was happening.

A ground-zoomer touched down behind her and Astrana turned to see her father and Lorthan getting off it. She went to greet them, but stopped when she saw his expression. "What's wrong father?" she asked.

"You're test. It came back." He said gravely.

"And?" She asked apprehensively.

Her father sighed. "You're infertile. Now your betrothal to Lorthan will be shifted to Naria."

"Naria? That _krashan_?" She laughed. "Tell me this is some kind of joke."

"I won't have you talk that way about my future mate." Lorthan snapped, anger on his face and in his voice.

"But Lorthan, I thought-"

"You thought wrong!"

Astrana jolted awake, something that you shouldn't do while sleeping in a tree. It meant that she tumbled out of her new nest and right onto Aximilli who had been sleeping underneath it.

(Aah!) Aximilli was awake instantly, his tail raised. He was ready for the threat – whatever it was – only to find that there wasn't one. He did see Astrana however. She was sitting on the ground, rubbing a fresh bump on her head. She looked up sheepishly at him.

"Sorry about that. I haven't done that in a long time."

(Done what?) he asked, curious.

"Fallen out of the nest because of a dream. And a really nasty one at that, too." She looked away into the night, remembering her shame. She sighed. "Haven't had that one in a while."

(Do you want to talk about it?)

"It's silly really. It was just the memory of my father telling me that I'm infertile. The problem is, the _Puruna_ – sorry – high-born are never infertile. I let down my entire family."

Aximilli was silent for a moment, thinking about that feeling. Having lived in his brother's shadow his entire life, he definitely knew how she felt. (You cannot blame yourself for something you had no control over.) he said reassuringly.

Astrana smiled sadly. "I suppose you're right." Her ears pricked up and she turned her head towards the sound in her nest. "That's my com!" She exclaimed in surprise.

Jumping back up to her nest she picked up the communicator and flipped it open. Ferbale's face was what occupied the screen. "What's the news?" she asked him, not bothering with formalities.

"Well," he replied, "Some good, some bad. What do you want first?"

A knot of anxiety formed in her stomach. What could be wrong? "I might as well have the bad news first." She said resignedly.

"The bad news is that I couldn't convince the Council that we need to join in this war, so they're refusing to help."

Astrana bit her lip. Why had the Council refused to help? "Who had the audience?"

Ferbale's expression became momentarily bitter. "I wasn't allowed to go in, because apparently I'm 'just too common'. Lorthan had to speak on my behalf. He said that he tried his hardest, but he just couldn't get the council to agree to send some help."

This puzzled her. Why would Lorthan speak for Ferbale? They'd hated each other as long as she'd known them. "So what's the good news?" she asked.

"Ah, the good news!" he said happily, "I'm coming to pay a little visit. There is one mar on this happy occasion, Lorthan is coming too. He won't tell me why, but insisted on tagging along."

Astrana sighed. "Great. Just great. When do you arrive?"

"Two Earth days from now. Don't get into any trouble till I get there okay?"

She laughed. "Alright. But only because you asked. See you soon." She closed the communicator, her mind racing. What could Lorthan want with her?


	8. Betrayal

A/N: Thanks much to Dot the Distracted, a writer of fics and Elwing for your reviews. Sorry this took so blimin long. Stupid writers' block! R R!

* * *

"The cavalry has arrived!"

Astrana turned at the shout and saw Ferbale coming through the trees. She had been so preoccupied with thinking about what Lorthan could possibly want that she hadn't even noticed his arrival. But her worries evaporated at the sight of her _Torna_ – her closest friend – and she jumped out of her nest and ran towards him.

"You made it!" she called as she ran into his outstretched arms.

Ferbale grinned. "Did you ever doubt me?"

"I hope I get a welcome like that." They turned to see the speaker. Emerging from the forest was a Kinto'un. He was taller than Ferbale and his fur more red than orange. Everything about him radiated power, from his thick, strong tail to his muscular build.

"Lorthan!" Astrana exclaimed, but made no move to greet him the enthusiastic way she had Ferbale.

This didn't seem to put him off however as he pulled her into the traditional embrace of their people, tails intertwined and foreheads pressed together. Astrana tensed up, not wanting to be that close to the one who hurt her so badly, but either he didn't notice or didn't care.

Finally he let her go and she retreated several steps before asking him, "What are you doing here?"

"I come bearing great news!" he said cheerily, seemingly oblivious to the cold tone of her voice. "There was a mistake in your test."

Astrana looked at him quizzically. "What kind of mistake?" she asked suspiciously.

"It turns out that somehow your test got switched with Naria's. She was the infertile one." Lorthan's revelation was disturbing in more ways than one. All present knew that the only reason Astrana wasn't bonded with Lorthan was because of her test. This did not bode well.

"W- What does this mean?" she stammered.

"It means, my love that you get to come back home, be bonded to me and restore your family's honor."

This did not receive the response that he had wanted. "No!" Astrana cried, backing away from him in shock.

"Isn't it what you've always dreamed of?" he asked smugly.

"When I was young and naive maybe. But now I have something more important to do with my life. I'm needed here."

Lorthan seized her arm roughly. "Who said you had a choice?" he growled menacingly. "You will come back with me, you will be bonded to me and you will like it." Maintaining his hold on her, he started to pull her in the direction of their ship.

He might have succeeded too, had he not been knocked down from Ferbale's surprise kick to the back. Astrana scurried behind Ferbale, seeking protection from an apparent madman.

Lorthan looked from the fearful expression on Astrana's face to Ferbale's determined one. "There is no reason for you to stay here. The Humans are doomed." He hissed.

Astrana moved forward warily. "What do you mean doomed?"

Lorthan laughed harshly. "I talked to the Yeerk leader. He was very accommodating in our deal. I've guaranteed the safety of our people. And all I had to do was deliver your pathetic human friends to him."

"A deal?" Ferbale asked in disbelief. "You think those foul creatures will stay true to their word? As soon as they have the humans who do you think they will turn on? Us, that's who. You are either foolish of mad to believe otherwise."

"Fine! Stay here and be enslaved with your precious humans!" Lorthan shouted, sprinting off into the woods towards the ship.

"We have to stop him." Ferbale whispered, turning to Astrana. But she was gone.

* * *

Lorthan arrived at the ship within minutes, his mind a storm of anger and revenge. It served them right, being left behind. They should have come with him. "Door!" he called in his mother tongue. "Open: password _krashan_." The door failed to open. Lorthan growled and repeated the password, but still nothing happened.

"What's the matter? Not used to things not going your way?" Astrana asked, leaning up against the ship, casually sharpening her daggers.

"Open the door!" he barked at her.

"Oh I don't think so, _my love_." She said, spitting the last two words. "I can't let you leave now." Before he could react she had pushed him down into the dirt and paralyzed him by jabbing her thumb into the pressure point on the back of his neck.

Then she began to do something that hadn't been done in over two centuries. (In human time) She began the _Pont'un_ – the mind wipe. She could feel him try to fight her, to push her out of his mind, but she slammed through his mental barriers and wrapped her consciousness around his own.

Soon there was nothing left. His mind was as blank as the day he was born. It had been completely stripped of all memories.

When Ferbale arrived, he saw Lorthan examining a tree as if he had never seen one before. In a way, he hadn't. He looked around for Astrana and it wasn't long before he found her curled up in a ball only a few meters away.

Hearing his approach, she bolted into his arms. "I had to do it. I had no other choice." She choked between sobs.

"Shhh. I know, I know. You had to protect the humans." He could feel his heart breaking as he held her. He had once promised to protect her and when she had needed him most, he hadn't been there. "It's okay now." He said, stroking her back, trying in vain to comfort her.


	9. Evidence

A/N: Thanks to Elwing and Writer of Fics for your reviews. And because this is the second last chapter and you asked so nicely Writer, I'll write this chapter in first person POV even though it almost makes my brain implode every time I try. (By the way, it's Astrana's POV.) Don't blame me if it sucks. Blame my parents. Because whenever something goes wrong, that's all you have to do – blame the parents. R & R!

* * *

"So you did this to him?" Marco asked me, looking down at Lorthan who was now examining his own foot.

I shifted uncomfortably, feeling all their accusing stares burning into me. "I had to." I told them. "You don't know what he was about to do."

"And what was that?" Rachel asked judgmentally.

I sighed. I knew she didn't like me and probably never would. "He was about to betray you. All of you. He was going to give you to Visser Three to keep our people safe."

Ferbale snorted. "Like that safety would've lasted more than five seconds."

I managed to catch his eye and smiled at him. It meant so much to me to have him here right now. Having someone around who I knew would always support me gave me the courage for what I was about to suggest.

I took a deep breath and announced my idea. "I have a plan. If we can convince the council that the Yeerks are a real threat then they'd send help. All we need to do is collect some evidence to show how dangerous they are."

Jake, who had been silent the entire time suddenly turned to me and spoke. "What kind of evidence?"

"Well my brief experience as a controller will help." Ferbale interjected.

"Wait a minute. How is that evidence?" Marco asked.

I smiled at him. I would always feel differently about Marco compared to other humans, he was the one I linked my mind to, and that gave us an unbreakable bond. "We have technology for viewing memories." I explained. "I thought we could try and get to the Hork-Bajir home world to collect more data. I know at least two of the council members were part of the study on their species, and that should help to push the decision our way."

"Why do that when we have lots of Hork-Bajir right here on good ol' Earth?" Marco offered.

(Of course! The free Hork-Bajir colony!) Tobias agreed.

* * *

From what I had heard of the current state of the Hork-Bajir home world, what I saw at the colony raised my spirits enormously. All those who had been freed going about their lives, harvesting bark, raising children, building new lives for themselves. Our people had always been fond of the Hork-Bajir, even though they are gatherers and we are hunters, we are both tree-dwellers.

I was introduced to one of them, a male by the name of Jarra Hamee. A young female called Toby who was obviously one of their seers explained to him what would happen.

I laid one hand on his forehead, just above the blade there and concentrated. "Try to stay calm." I said to him as I gently entered his mind, searching for the memories that I needed.

There they were. I could see them clearly like vid screens, each showing a different picture. One caused me great pain. The Hork-Bajir world, their great forests stripped and desolate. I almost drew away from that memory, but it was needed so I took what I needed and drew away from his mind.

When I opened my eyes, I realized there were tears on my face.

"Are you alright?" Ferbale asked me concernedly.

I nodded. "It's just some of those memories were upsetting, that's all." I turned to Jarra Hamee. "I promise to do all I can to prevent the Yeerks ever doing that to any other species."

"I sincerely hope you can do that." Said Toby grimly.

* * *

I was just finishing the final pre-liftoff checks when the sensors detected a life form approaching. I glanced at the camera screen and saw that it was Marco. Leaving Ferbale to finish the checks, I went to greet the 'little one', inwardly smiling at memories of how he hated that pet name.

"I just came to wish you good luck." He told me.

"Thanks. I think we may need it." I said, thinking about how tough it is to convince the council of anything at all. Something snapped me out of my reverie. It was Marco. I could feel the anxiety radiating from him. "You know that I'm coming back. Even if the council won't help, I'll still be joining in the fight."

He nodded just as Ferbale called from inside the ship, "We're all set to go!"

"I have to go. I'll see you soon little one." I said cheekily, laughing at the look of annoyance on his face. I was still laughing as I boarded the ship.

* * *

A/N: Brain… Imploding… No… More… bleshqsh (the sound of someone's brain imploding.) 


	10. Convincing The Council

A/N: Thanks a writer of fics for your review, but I was a little dissapointed that you were the only one who reviewed. Come on people! Take a moment of your time to tell me what you think!

* * *

"Identify yourselves." The guard at the orbital checkpoint stated, clearly bored and seeming to say 'I don't get paid enough for this' like all guards throughout the multiverse manage to do with their body language alone.

"Astrana of the _Inshura_ clan and Ferbale of the _Oprin_ clan. We are here to meet with the council."

The guard's eyes widened in recognition and he tried to look more respectable without being too obvious. "Yes, of course." He stammered, punching in the entrance code that would allow their vessel through the shield.

"Thank you." Astrana said, smiling at him.

He only nodded and flipped the screen off with a sigh of relief; he really hated dealing with the_ Puruna_, as it always made him horribly nervous.

* * *

"Great Council, we are here today to present our case for us joining the war against the Yeerks." Astrana announced to the panel before her.

Onarion, the oldest and most respected member of the council leaned forward. "Lorthan of the _Kantam_ clan has already made his case. We ruled that this war was not our concern."

Astrana sighed. She had hoped this issue would not come up, especially not so soon. "Lorthan was not acting in the best interests of our people, only his own."

"How so?" he asked.

"He was prepared to betray the humans for his own safe passage. Also, he was unstable, trying to force me into a bonding."

"A forced bonding?" Arna, one of the older female members exclaimed, thoroughly shocked.

Astrana nodded. "He was so deluded and unhinged that I had no choice but to perform the _Pont'un_ to subdue him." She could feel the council's unease. The _Pont'un _was used only in extreme situations, and only ever as a last resort. To try and detract from this point, she brought up her first point. "If I may councilors, there are memories I extracted from a Hork-Bajir to show what the Yeerks to planets they conquer."

"Proceed." Onarion said.

Concentrating, she projected the memories she had gathered from Jarra Hamee onto the screen hovering above her. As the images of the Hork-Bajir world flickered past, she was relieved to hear small noises of shock and anger issuing from the entire council.

When she was finished, Ferbale stepped forward. "Council members, I wish now to present my own memories of how badly the Yeerks treat their individual hosts."

Onarion merely nodded his ascent this time, still too disturbed by the images of the magnificent forests of the Hork-Bajir homeworld laid bare.

This time the images were accompanied with sound. The Yeerk that had briefly controlled Ferbale was heard taunting him, making him relive painful memories, promising to enslave everyone he had ever known or cared about.

When the memories finally stopped, Astrana laid a comforting hand on Ferbale's shoulder. She knew how hard it must have been to bring that horrible experience back up.

Moving away from him, she turned to address the council once more. "That, councilors was our case. We hope that you will agree to aid the Humans and the Andalites in their cause to stop the Yeerk threat."

"Very well." Onarion said. "We shall retire to discuss matters for a time. You shall be summoned when a decision has been made."

* * *

Back on Earth, things weren't going so smoothly. Eric had given word of a live nationwide broadcast for the Sharing that was due to go out today. After much debate, it was agreed that this had to be stopped. The Sharing had to be hindered in their acquisition of hosts, it was the last thing the Animorphs wanted for even more people to be enslaved.

(Okay, let's go over the plan one more time.) Jake said as they flew out towards the sight of the broadcast. (We go in, cause some havoc, and get out again as quickly as possible.)

(Really?) Marco said as they landed and began demorphing. (I thought the plan was to stroll in there and try to get killed.)

(Shut up Marco.) Jake said tiredly, not in the mood for jokes. If this broadcast was successful, there would be no way of telling how many more people would join the Sharing.

* * *

"Ferbale and Astrana. You have been called here today to hear our decision on whether or not we will join this war."

They stood waiting to hear the decision with baited breath. It had taken so long for the council to agree on a course of action, that there was no way of calling what was going to happen next.

"Our decision is…"

* * *

(Rachel! Look out behind you!) Cassie called from the center of the melee. This mission had tuned to utter chaos. Visser Three had obviously expected interference with the broadcast and had brought in enough Hork-Bajir controllers to match any army the world has to offer.

Even though the plan had been to get in and out as quickly as possible, as soon as the Animorphs had shown themselves, Hork-Bajir had begun streaming out from all directions, making escape impossible – except maybe in pieces.

Just when things were starting to get desperate and the circle they were defending started to close in on them, something seemed to be distracting their attentions.

A nearby bug fighter tried to take off, but something like a Yeerk dracon beam or an Andalite shredder hit the engines with deadly accuracy. No sooner had that happened, than a strange energy field surrounded the entire area, freezing anyone that came within range.

(What is going on!) Rachel raged. (I can't move!)

(Is this some kind of Yeerk technology?) Cassie asked fearfully.

(I believe not.) Ax said, always operating from a point of logic. (It does not make sense for them to paralyze their own troops as well.)

Marco, still in gorilla morph felt hands attach something to his neck from behind him. Suddenly, he could move again. He turned to see Astrana smiling at him.

"I said I'd be back." Astrana said. Marco reached up to gingerly touch the strange collar that was now around his neck. Seeing the gesture, Astrana pointed to her own collar that she was wearing as a human would a belt. "It negates the freeze-field. All your friends are receiving them too."

Looking around, Marco could see a several Kinto'un fixing collars to his fellow Animorphs who looked just as surprised as he was to receive the ability to move again.

"No! Do not give a negator to that Andalite!" Astrana shouted suddenly. The Kinto'un who had been just about to fix a collar on Visser Three stopped hurriedly and stammered his apologies.

Paying him no attention, Astrana walked right up to the Abomination until she was standing directly in front of him. "So this is the infamous Visser Three. Well since you're a bit behind on the times, let me fill you in. This war is now over. Fleets have been sent to the Taxxon and Hork-Bajir home worlds and the same thing is happening there. Your race will have the choice of returning to your home planet if you wish."

(Never!) The Visser spat, hatred and rage filling his voice.

Astrana only shrugged. "Then stay here and starve. Either way, you loose."

* * *

A/N: Well that the end of it. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Love, peace and chicken grease to you all.


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